This part of the Twelve Days of Christmas song is my favorite. Why? Because it brings back fond memories of when I was working in Thierry Patisserie, Vancouver. Back in the kitchen, we would loudly sing (ok, more like shout) FIVE GOLDEN RINGS whenever that part of the song came around. Maybe cos we were mostly ladies and which gal wouldn’t want five gold rings?

My husband hasn’t given me five gold rings. Well, unless you count the deep-fried golden calamari rings he once used to mock-propose to me. We were having dinner in an alfresco rooftop cafe under the starry sky when he grabbed an oily battered calamari ring from the basket and said ‘Will you marry me?’ How romantic… NOT! I obviously did not agree, but I did have a good laugh.

So in the spirit of food in the shape of rings, I made cardamom spiced kipferl rings. Kipferl is an Austrian cookie shaped like the Turkish crescent to celebrate the victory over the Turkish in one of their wars. They are traditionally eaten during Xmas and are popular in Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. I deliberately added a touch of cardamom and cinnamon to this recipe and shaped them like rings to give these fragrant cookies an exotic spice kick for the fifth day of Xmas.

Cardamom Rings

110g unsalted butter, room temperature
40g sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg yolk
150g plain flour
50g ground almonds
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Cream butter, sugar and salt on medium speed until butter becomes pale in color.

Creaming adds air to butter and lightens its texture and color

2. Add egg yolk and vanilla on low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix until well incorporated.

3. On low speed, add flour, ground almonds and spices. Scrape down and mix until the dough comes together.

Do not over-mix dough for a more tender cookie. Only mix till it comes together.

4. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a log and chill overnight or until firm.

5. When ready to shape and bake cookies, preheat oven to 300 F

6. Knead chilled dough slightly and roll into long cords. Cut into even pieces weighing ~15g each.

Cut them into even pieces and then weigh each portion to ensure even baking

7. Roll each portion into a ball. Then roll into a log. Join the two ends to form a ring.

If dough is sticky, sprinkle a little bit of flour on work surface before shaping

Wouldn’t you wanna wear this ring on your finger?

8. Place cookies on baking tray and bake in 300F oven for 20 minutes, until cookies are slightly brown.

9. Remove from oven and dust icing sugar over warm cookies.

10. Cool and enjoy or pack into jars for gifts!

Five golden cardamom spiced rings… DONE!

If you missed out on past recipes in the 12 days of Xmas recipes series…

Fourth Day of Xmas: Cheesy Cauliflower Gratin
Third Day of Xmas: Creamy Chicken Pie
Second Day of Xmas: Turtle Bars
First Day of Xmas: Rustic Pear Galette